Twitter: Don't Be Skeptical

Just like many other people, I was skeptical about hopping on the Twitter bandwagon. I had heard about it a few years ago from friends and family and was told to join up. Before signing up, I had asked a few people what the benefits of Twitter were. They had basically told me that it was just like Facebook, but that you could only write up to 140 characters for your "status update". Upon hearing this information, I decided that I already had a Facebook account and had no desire need to sign up for yet another social media site that only allowed you to write short posts. Boy was I wrong!

As a huge sports fan, I began to see more and more Twitter statuses on my favorite sports broadcasts. Whether I was watching the NBA Finals, Mike and Mike, or the Tiger's game, I kept hearing what people were saying on Twitter. I also saw how regular 'Joe Schmo' was getting his/her thoughts brought into the national conversation. Seeing this gave me the idea that 'hey, I can do this'! Before long, I was up and running on Twitter.

I quickly found Twitter to be AMAZING! Although I did not have many personal friends that I "followed" on Twitter, I was able to follow people/entities that were important to me. Before long, I was following all sorts of Twitter accounts. From ESPN, to Matthew Stafford, to CNN, to NPR, I was quickly getting new information before I could hear about it from my old means of finding new information -- TV, Radio, and various websites. By having a Twitter account and following the things I liked to know about, I could get news and information in real-time.

I also found that using the search feature in Twitter could give you instant access to whatever was going on in the world. Within a few days of signing up for Twitter, there was a movement going on in the Middle East that some termed the "Arab Spring". By simply searching for this term or individual countries that were involved, I could see first-hand accounts of what was happening on the ground in these regions in real-time. I remember being glued to my phone and looking at the updates during the Arab Spring. I would then watch the evening news to finally hear about something I heard on Twitter early that day, or possibly early that week. I also remember doing the same thing with the Boston Marathon bombing. My wife began to think I was the smartest man in the world having knowledge about everything that was on the news! Lol.

Besides getting updates on news and people/entities you care about, Twitter is a great tool for education. This year I created a school Twitter, or a Twitter account I would only use for my teaching job. Although it has not been a full year since I have signed up for this account, I am already seeing positives from it. I can quickly give out important information on upcoming deadlines and events, share and obtain interesting and relevant resources, and stay in contact with many of my students and their parents.

I am glad I jumped on the Twitter bandwagon and I hope you do too! Feel free to follow me at @MrTrevorRheaume